Google introduces new security measures to combat online scams

Google is ramping up security measures and research to combat online scams in India with an initiative called DigiKavach, the company announced on Thursday as part of a host of new collaborations and commitments, including the start of manufacturing of its flagship Pixel phones in the country.

- Binayak Dasgupta

The announcement on the security measures comes at a time of growing unease over a spurt in cyber crime, especially those involving financial frauds, such as instances of bank accounts being compromised and people being extorted by predatory loan apps.

Among the measures is a new threat intelligence framework that includes collaboration with fintech. companies for on-ground feedback, and "deep research" into how scammers are evolving, which the company plans to share more widely to detail new scam patterns.

"We feel very confident that when we know a threat we can we can solve it. But what we have noticed is these bad actors are shape shifting," said Saikat Mitra, vice president and the head of Google's trust and safety for the Asia Pacific region, in an interview with HT on the eve of the company's Google for India event on Thursday.